Hydrocracking catalyst and process using insitu produced Y-fauajasite

ABSTRACT

A hydrocracking catalyst comprising zeolite crystallized as a layer on the surface of a porous alumina-containing matrix, said zeolite-layered matrix arranged in a configuration to provide macropores in which the zeolite layer is provided on the walls of the macropores. Hydrogenating metals can be incorporated into the catalyst.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority of provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/778,575, filed Mar. 2, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to use of an improved catalyst for the hydrocracking of hydrocarbon oils.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hydrocracking is a versatile petroleum refining process which enjoys widespread use in the refining industry. Hydrocracking has the ability to process a wide range of difficult feedstocks into a variety of desirable products. Feedstocks which may be treated by this process include heavy naphthas, kerosenes, refractory catalytically cracked cycle stocks and high boiling virgin and coker gas oils. At high severities, hydrocracking can convert these materials to gasoline and lower boiling paraffins; lesser severities permit the higher boiling feedstocks to be converted into lighter distillates such as diesel fuels and aviation kerosenes.

Hydrocracking is conventionally carried out at moderate temperatures of 350° C. to 450° C. (650° F. to 850° F.) and at high pressures, over 7,000 kPa (1,000 psig) because the thermodynamics of the hydrocracking process become unfavorable at higher temperatures. In addition, high hydrogen pressures, usually at least 800 psig are usually required to prevent catalyst aging and so to maintain sufficient activity to enable the process to be operated with a fixed bed of catalyst for periods of one to two years without the need for regeneration.

Environmental concerns, especially with sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides emissions, have led petroleum refiners to depend more heavily than in the past on hydrodesulfurization and hydrocracking processes. Availability of by-product hydrogen from naphtha reforming no doubt has also cooperated to foster this dependence. Other factors too, have come into play to make hydroprocessing of increasing importance. Among these factors is that high quality crude oils for lube and fuels refineries are expected to progressively become more scarce. Also, refineries that include a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) plant generate large volumes of dealkylated, aromatic refractory effluents, commonly known as FCC Cycle Oils. Decrease in demand for the fuel oil products into which these FCC Cycle Oils were previously incorporated has added to the practice of working them off by incorporation with a hydrocracker feedstock. The hydrocracking process, unlike catalytic cracking, is able to effectively upgrade these otherwise refractory materials.

Hydrocracking is an established petroleum refining process. The hydrocracking feedstock is invariably hydrotreated before being passed to the hydrocracker in order to remove sulfur and nitrogen compounds as well as metals and, in addition, to saturate olefins and to effect a partial saturation of aromatics. The sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen compounds may be removed as inorganic sulfur, nitrogen and water prior to hydrocracking although interstage separation may be omitted, as in the Unicracking-JHC process. Although the presence of large quantities of ammonia may result in a suppression of cracking activity in the subsequent hydrocracking step, this may be offset by an increase in the severity of the hydrocracking operation.

In the hydrotreater, a number of different hydrogenation reactions take place including olefin and aromatic ring saturation but the severity of the operation is limited so as to minimize cracking. The hydrotreated feed is then passed to the hydrocracker in which various cracking and hydrogenation reactions occur.

In the hydrocracker, the cracking reactions provide olefins for hydrogenation while hydrogenation in turn provides heat for cracking since the hydrogenation reactions are exothermic while the cracking reactions are endothermic; the reaction generally proceeds with generation of excessive heat because the amount of heat released by the exothermic hydrogenation reactions usually is much greater than the amount of heat consumed by the endothermic cracking reactions. This surplus of heat causes the reactor temperature to increase and accelerate the reaction rate, but control is provided by the use of hydrogen quench.

Conventional hydrocracking catalysts combine an acidic function and a hydrogenation function. The acidic function in the catalyst is provided by a porous solid carrier such as alumina, silica-alumina, or by a composite of a crystalline zeolite such as faujasite, Zeolite X, Zeolite Y or mordenite with an amorphous carrier such as silica-alumina. The use of a porous solid with a relatively large pore size in excess of 7A is generally required because the bulky, polycyclic aromatic compounds which constitute a large portion of the typical feedstock require pore sizes of this magnitude in order to gain access to the internal pore structure of the catalyst where the bulk of the cracking reactions take place.

The hydrogenation function in the hydrocracking catalyst is provided by a transition metal or combination of metals. Noble metals of Group VIIIA of the Periodic Table, especially platinum or palladium may be used, but generally, base metals of Groups IVA, VIA and VIIIA are preferred because of their lower cost and relatively greater resistance to the effects of poisoning by contaminants. The preferred base metals for use as hydrogenation components are chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt and nickel; and, combinations of metals such as nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-molybdenum, cobalt-nickel, nickel-tungsten, cobalt-nickel-molybdenum and nickel-tungsten-titanium have been shown to be very effective and useful.

The porous support which provides the acidic functionality in the catalyst may comprise either an amorphous or a crystalline material or both. Amorphous materials have significant advantages for processing very high boiling feeds which contain significant quantities of bulky polycyclic materials (aromatics as well as polynaphthenes) since the amorphous materials usually possesses pores extending over a wide range of sizes and the larger pores, frequently in the size range of 100 to 400 Angstroms are large enough to provide entry of the bulky components of the feed into the interior structure of the material where the acid-catalyzed reactions may take place. Typical amorphous materials of this kind include alumina and silica-alumina and mixtures of the two, possibly modified with other inorganic oxides such as silica, magnesia or titania.

Crystalline materials, especially the large pore size zeolites such as zeolites X and Y, have been found to be useful for a number of hydrocracking applications since they have the advantage, as compared to the amorphous materials, of possessing a greater degree of activity, which enables the hydrocracking to be carried out at lower temperatures at which the accompanying hydrogenation reactions are thermodynamically favored. In addition, the crystalline catalysts tend to be more stable in operation than the amorphous materials such as alumina. The crystalline materials may, however, not be suitable for all applications since even the largest pore sizes in these materials, typically about 7.4 Angstroms in the X and Y zeolites, are too small to permit access by various bulky species in the feed. For this reason, hydrocracking of residuals fractions and high boiling feeds has generally required an amorphous catalyst of rather lower activity.

The crystalline hydrocracking catalysts generally tend to produce significant quantities of gasoline boiling range materials (approximately 330° F.-, 165° C.-) materials as product. Since hydrocracked gasolines tend to be of relatively low octane and require further treatment as by reforming before the product can be blended into the refinery gasoline pool, hydrocracking is usually not an attractive route for the production of gasoline. On the other hand, it is favorable to the production of distillate fractions, especially jet fuels, heating oils and diesel fuels since the hydrocracking process reduces the heteroatom impurities characteristically present in these fractions to the low level desirable for these products.

In fuels hydrocracking, the zeolite content of the catalyst is conventionally as high as possible for the desired acidity; conversely the amount of matrix which supports the metal component is limited and as the proportion of zeolite in the catalyst increases, the amount of support available for the metal component decreases with the result that the hydrogenation activity becomes limited at the high zeolite loadings requisite to fuels hydrocracking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, hydrotreating and/or hydrocracking are achieved in the presence of a crystalline zeolite catalyst having a macroporous structure in which the macropores of the structure are essentially coated or lined with zeolite crystals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is an SEM photograph of a zeolite catalyst of this invention as proposed in Example 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Feedstock

The present process may be used for hydrocracking a variety of feedstocks such as crude petroleum, reduced crudes, vacuum tower residua, coker gas oils, cycle oils, FCC tower bottoms, vacuum gas oils, deasphalted residua and other heavy oils. These feedstocks may optionally be subjected to a hydrotreating treatment prior to being subjected to the present hydrocracking process. The feedstock, especially in the non-hydrotreated form, will contain a substantial amount boiling above 260° C. (500° F.) and will normally have an initial boiling point of about 290° C. (about 550° F.) more usually about 340° C. (650° F.). Typical boiling ranges will be about 340° C. to 565° C. (650° F. to 1050° F.) or about 340° C. to 510° C. (650° F. to 950° F.) but oils with a narrower boiling range may, of course, also be processed, for example, those with a boiling range of about 340° C. to 455° C. (650° F. to 850° F.). Heavy gas oils are often of this kind as are cycle oils and other non-residual materials. Oils derived from coal, shale or tar sands may also be treated in this way. It is possible to co-process materials boiling below 260° C. (500° F.) but they will be substantially unconverted. Feedstocks containing lighter ends of this kind will normally have an initial boiling point above 150° C. (about 300° F.). Feedstock components boiling in the range of 290° to 340° C. (about 550° to 650° F.) can be converted to products boiling from 230° C. to 290° C. (about 450° to 550° F.) but the heavier ends of the feedstock are converted preferentially to the more volatile components and therefore the lighter ends may remain unconverted unless the process severity is increased sufficiently to convert the entire range of components. A particular hydrocarbon feedstock which may be used is an FCC recycle oil having an initial boiling point of at least about 343° C. (650° F.). Other examples of feedstocks include those with relatively large contents of non-aromatic hydrocarbons, such as paraffinic feedstocks, e.g., feedstocks having at least 20 percent by weight, e.g., at least 50 percent by weight, e.g., at least 60 percent by weight, of paraffins. Feedstocks, including those which have been hydrotreated, which may be used in the present process, include those having at least 70 wt. % of hydrocarbons having a boiling point of at least 204° C. (400° F.).

Process Conditions

The feedstock is heated to an elevated temperature and is then passed over the hydrotreating and hydrocracking catalysts in the presence of hydrogen. Because the thermodynamics of hydrocracking become unfavorable at temperatures above about 450° C. (about 850° F.) temperatures above this value will not normally be used. In addition, because the hydrotreating and hydrocracking reactions are exothermic, the feedstock need not be heated to the temperature desired in the catalyst bed which is normally in the range 290°, usually 360° C. to 440° C. (about 550°, usually 675° F. to 825° F.). At the beginning of the process cycle, the temperature employed will be at the lower end of this range but as the catalyst ages, the temperature may be increased in order to maintain the desired degree of activity.

Typically, the heavy oil feedstock is passed over the catalysts in the presence of hydrogen. The space velocity of the oil is usually in the range 0.1 to 10 LHSV, preferably 0.2 to 2.0 LHSV and the hydrogen circulation rate of from about 1400 to 5600 SCF/bbl and more usually from 300 to 800 (about 1685 to 4500 SCF/bbl). Hydrogen partial pressure is usually at least 75 percent of the total system pressure with reactor inlet pressures normally being in the range of 400 to 1500 psig (about 2860 to about 10445 kPa abs), more commonly from 800 to 1500 psig (about 5620 to 10445 kPa abs) for low to moderate pressure operation, which is the preferred mode with the present catalyst, although high pressure operation above 1500 psig (about 10445 kPa abs) is also feasible and with similar advantages, especially for fuels hydrocracking. In the high pressure mode, pressures from about 1500 to 5000 psig (about 10445 to 34575 kPa abs) are typical although higher pressures may also be utilized with the upper limit usually being set by equipment constraints. When operating at low conversions, for example, less than 50 weight percent conversion to 345° C.- (about 650° F.-) products, the pressure may be considerably lower than normal, conventional practices. We have found that total system pressures of about 700 to 1200 psig (about 4930 to 8375 kPa abs) are satisfactory, as compared to the pressures of at least 1500 psig (about 10445 kPa) normally used in commercial hydrocracking processes. Low conversion may be obtained by suitable selection of other reaction parameters, e.g., temperature, space velocity, choice of catalyst, and even lower pressures may be used. Low pressures are desirable from the point of view of equipment design since less massive and consequently cheaper equipment will be adequate. Similarly, lower pressures usually influence less aromatic saturation and thereby permit economy in the total amount of hydrogen consumed in the process.

The overall conversion may be maintained at varying levels depending on the nature of the feed and on the desired product characteristics. It is possible to operate the process at a low conversion level, less than 50 weight percent to lower boiling products, usually 340° C.- (650° F.-) products from the heavy oil feedstocks used while still maintaining satisfactory product quality. The conversion may, of course, be maintained at even lower levels, e.g. 30 or 40 percent by weight. The degree of cracking to gas (C₄) which occurs at these low conversion figures is correspondingly low and so is the conversion to naphtha (200° C.-, 400° F.-); the distillate selectivity of the process is accordingly high and overcracking to lighter and less desired products is minimized. It is believed that in cascade operation this effect is procured, in part, by the effect of the ammonia carried over from the first stage. Control of conversion may be effected by conventional expedients such as control of temperature, pressure, space velocity and other reaction parameters.

The feed is preferably passed over a hydrotreating catalyst before the hydrocracking catalyst in order to convert nitrogen and sulfur containing compounds to gaseous ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. At this stage, hydrocracking is minimized but partial hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatics proceeds, together with a limited degree of conversion to lower boiling (345° C.-, 650° F.-) products. The catalyst used in this stage may be a conventional denitrogenation (denitrification) catalyst. Catalysts of this type are relatively immune to poisoning by the nitrogenous and sulfurous impurities in the feedstock and, generally comprise a non-noble metal component supported on an amorphous, porous carrier such as silica, alumina, silica-alumina or silica-magnesia. Because extensive cracking is not desired in this stage of the process, the acidic functionality of the carrier may be relatively low compared to that of the subsequent hydrocracking catalyst. The metal component may be a single metal from Groups VIA and VIIIA of the Periodic Table such as nickel, cobalt, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, tungsten, or a combination of metals such as nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-molybdenum, nickel-tungsten or nickel-tungsten-titanium. Generally, the metal component will be selected for good hydrogenation activity; the catalyst as a whole will have good hydrogenation and minimal cracking characteristics. The catalyst should be pre-sulfided in the normal way in order to convert the metal component (usually impregnated into the carrier and converted to oxide) to the corresponding sulfide.

In the hydrotreating (denitrogenation) stage, the nitrogen and sulfur impurities are converted to ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. At the same time, the polycyclic aromatics are partially hydrogenated to form naphthenes and hydroaromatics which are more readily cracked in the second stage. The effluent from the first stage may be passed directly to the second or hydrocracking stage without the conventional interstage separation of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen quenching may be carried out in order to control the effluent temperature and to control the catalyst temperature in the second stage. However, interstage separation of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide and light fractions may be carried out, especially with the noble metal hydrocracking catalysts which are more sensitive to the impurities.

The relative proportions of the hydrocracking and the hydrotreating catalysts may be varied according to the feedstock in order to convert the nitrogen in the feedstock to ammonia before the charge passes to the hydrocracking step; the object is to reduce the nitrogen level of the charge to a point where the desired degree of conversion by the hydrocracking catalyst is attained with the optimum combination of space velocity and reaction temperature. The greater the amount of nitrogen in the feed, the greater then will be the proportion of hydrotreating (denitrogenation) catalyst relative to the hydrocracking catalyst. If the amount of nitrogen in the feed is low, the catalyst ratio may be as low as 10:90 (by volume, denitrogenation:hydrocracking). In general, however, ratios between 25:75 to 75:25 will be used. With many stocks an approximately equal volume ratio will be suitable, e.g. 40:60, 50:50 or 60:40.

The effluent from the denitrogenation/desulfurization stage is passed to the hydrocracking step to crack partially hydrogenated aromatics and carry out the other characteristic reactions which take place over the hydrocracking catalyst.

The hydrocracking is carried out in the presence of a catalyst which contains three essential components. The first component is the metal which provides the desired hydrogenation/dehydrogenation functionality and this component is supported on one or two of the porous components, namely, the macroporous catalyst support material (which may provide some of the acidic functionality of the catalyst) and the crystalline zeolite which is zeolite Y which coats or lines the walls of the macropores of the matrix.

Hydrocracking Catalyst Metal Component

The hydrogenation-dehydrogenation component is provided by a metal or combination of metals. Noble metals of Group VIIIA, especially palladium, platinum, or base metals of Groups IVA, VIA and VIIIA, especially chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt and nickel, may be used. The combination of at least one Group VIA metal such as tungsten with at least one Group VIIA metal such as nickel is particularly preferred for many applications, for example, combinations such as nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-nickel, nickel-tungsten, cobalt-nickel-molybdenum and nickel-tungsten-titanium. For certain applications palladium or platinum may be preferred.

The content of the metal component will vary according to its catalytic activity. Thus, the highly active noble metals may be used in smaller amounts than the less active base metals. For example, about 1 wt. percent or less palladium or platinum will be effective and in a preferred base metal combination, about 7 wt. % nickel and about 2 to about 21 wt % tungsten, expressed as metal. The metal component may exceed about 30 percent in a monolayer and metal contents of up to about 40% or even more may be achieved. The hydrogenation component can be exchanged onto the support materials when the metal is in the cationic form or alternatively, may be impregnated into them or physically admixed with them. Palladium or platinum compounds in which the metal is in the form of a cation of cationic complex, e.g., Pd(NH₃)₄Cl₂ or Pt(NH₃)₄Cl₂ are particularly useful for exchange of these metals onto the support. Anionic complexes such as the molybdate, vanadate and metatungstate ions may be used where the metal component is to be impregnated into the support.

Hydrocracking Catalyst Zeolite Component

The hydrocracking catalyst of this invention is provided by zeolite Y that has been formed in-situ and is formed and contained in a macroporous matrix.

The hydrocracking catalyst containing the zeolite is suitably used in a matrixed form in the catalysts and may suitably be formed into extrudates, pellets or other shapes to permit the passage of gases over the catalyst with the minimum pressure drop. The crystalline zeolite component may be matrixed or bound with active and inactive materials such as clays, silica and/or metal oxides such as alumina, titania and/or zirconia. Non-dispersible aluminas are particularly useful. The metal oxides may be either naturally occurring or in the form of gelatinous precipitates or gels including mixtures of silica and metal oxides. Inactive materials suitable serve as diluents to control the amount of conversion in a given process so that products can be obtained economically and orderly without employing other means for controlling the rate of reaction. It may be desirable to provide at least a part of the foregoing matrix materials in colloidal form so as to facilitate extrusion of the bound catalyst components(s). The relative proportions of finely divided zeolite material and matrix vary widely, with the crystal content ranging from about 1 to about 90 percent by weight and more usually, particularly when the composite is prepared in the form of beads, in the range of about 2 to about 80 weight percent of the composite.

The catalyst may be treated by conventional presulfiding treatments, e.g. by heating in the presence of hydrogen sulfide, to convert oxide forms of the metals such as CoO or NiO to their corresponding sulfides.

The hydrocracking catalyst of this invention may be derived from microspheres such as those produced by the general process as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,656,347; 6,942,784 and 6,943,132, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The microspheres used to prepare the hydrocracking catalyst are formed from an in-situ derived zeolite Y and a non-zeolite alumina-rich matrix. Importantly, the non-zeolitic, alumina-rich matrix of the catalysts of the present invention is preferably derived from a hydrous kaolin source that is in the form of an ultrafine powder in which at least 90 wt. % of the particles are less than 2.0 microns, preferably at least 90 wt. % less than 1 micron. The ultrafine hydrous kaolin is pulverized and calcined through the exotherm. Typical zeolite microspheres for FCC cracking have been formed with an alumina-rich matrix derived from kaolin having a larger size than used in this invention and which is calcined at least substantially through its characteristic exotherm. Satintone® No. 1 (a commercially available kaolin that has been calcined through its characteristic exotherm without any substantial formation of mullite) is a material used initially on a commercial basis to form the alumina-rich matrix. Satintone® No. 1 is derived from a hydrous kaolin in which 70% of the particles are less than 2 microns. Other sources used to form the alumina-rich matrix include finely divided hydrous kaolin (e.g., ASP® 600, a commercially available hydrous kaolin described in Engelhard Technical Bulletin No. TI-1004, entitled “Aluminum Silicate Pigments” (EC-1167)) calcined at least substantially through its characteristic exotherm. Booklet clay has found the most widespread commercial use and has met tremendous success worldwide. These larger clay particles represented the state of the art in forming the alumina-rich matrix of the FCC catalyst microsphere and had no perceived deficits.

What is meant by “ultrafine” powder is that at least 90 wt. % of the hydrous kaolin particles must be less than 2 microns in diameter, preferably less than 1 micron determined by Sedigraph™ (or sedimentation). It has been found that, in particular, use of hydrous kaolin pigments with this particle size distribution upon pulverization and calcination through the characteristic exotherm results in a greater quantity of macroporosity even in the catalyst microsphere subsequent to zeolite crystallization. The loose packing of the calcined ultrafine kaolin, which has been found, can be likened to a “house of cards” in which the individual particulates are aligned randomly with respect to adjacent particles in a non-parallel manner. Moreover, the calcined ultrafine kaolin exists as porous aggregates of the “house of cards” morphology, providing not only a porous aggregate but additional porous areas between aggregates. Pulverization of the ultrafine hydrous kaolin is required to provide the random stacking of the individual kaolin platelets.

Kaolin clays or pigments are naturally-occurring hydrated aluminum silicates of the approximate formula Al₂O₃2SiO₂XH₂O, wherein X is usually 2. Kaolinite, nacrite, dickite and halloysite are species of minerals in the kaolin group. It is well-known that when kaolin is heated in air, that a first transition occurs at about 550° C. associated with an endothermic dehydroxylation reaction.

The resulting material is generally referred to as metakaolin. Metakaolin persists until the material is heated to about 975° C. and begins to undergo an exothermic reaction. This material is frequently described as kaolin, which has undergone the characteristic exothermic reaction. Some authorities refer to this material as a defect aluminum-silicon spinel or as a gamma alumina phase. See Donald W. Breck, Zeolite Molecular Sieves, published by John Wiley and Sons, 1974, pp. 314-315. On further heating to about 1,050° C., high temperature phases including mullite begin to form. The extent of conversion to mullite is dependent on a time-temperature relationship and the presence of mineralizers, as is well-known in the art.

In the preferred embodiments of this invention, the pulverized ultrafine hydrous kaolin used to derive the alumina-rich matrix is calcined through its characteristic exotherm with or without the formation of mullite. An especially preferred matrix source which is used in this invention to form the macroporous zeolite microspheres is Ansilex® 93. Ansilex® 93 is made from the fine size fraction of a hard kaolin crude, by spray drying, pulverizing and calcining to prepare low abrasion pigments as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,523, to Fanselow, et. al., the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The ultrafine hydrous matrix source is spray dried, pulverized and then calcined through the exotherm, optionally to mullite. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,902 discloses calcining the kaolin clay to mullite until the X-ray diffraction intensities are comparable to a fully crystalline reference standard. While it is within the scope of the present invention to calcine the kaolin beyond the exotherm such that the X-ray diffraction intensities are comparable to a fully crystalline referenced standard it is preferred to calcine the kaolin beyond the characteristic exotherm so as to convert the kaolin to small crystallite size mullite. The small crystallite size mullite has the appropriate diffractional lines and leached chemical composition of a fully crystalline mullite standard, but the diffractional lines are weaker inasmuch as the crystallites are smaller. The relationship between diffraction intensity/line width and crystallite size is well-known. It is preferred to calcine the kaolin beyond the exotherm to a small crystallite mullite matrix inasmuch as fully calcining the kaolin to mullite takes excessive time and temperature in practice. Furthermore, calcining kaolin beyond the exotherm to fully crystalline mullite can result in the macroporosity being lost due to sintering. Moreover, the pore volume can be decreased and the bulk density substantially increased after calcining kaolin to fully crystalline mullite. Thus, it is preferred that the ultrafine kaolin calcined through the exotherm has 20-80% of the integrated X-ray diffraction peak areas of a kaolin reference sample containing well crystallized mullite. More preferably, the ultrafine kaolin is calcined through the exotherm such that it has 50-70% of the integrated X-ray diffraction peak areas of fully crystallized mullite.

What is unusual about the use of the Ansilex® material is that it is derived from hard kaolin clay. Hard kaolin clays typically have a gray tinge or coloration and are, thus, also referred to as “gray clays”. These hard kaolins are further characterized by breaking into irregularly shaped fragments having rough surfaces. Hard kaolin clays also contain a significant iron content, typically about 0.6 to 1 wt. % of Fe₂O₃. Hard kaolin clays are described in Grim's “Applied Clay Mineralology”, 1962, MaGraw Hill Book Company, pp. 394-398 thereof, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Hard kaolin clays have also occasionally been used as sources of metakaolin for in situ microspheres, but not with advantage.

The alumina-rich matrix can be derived from alumina-containing materials more generally characterized by the porosity thereof provided during the packing of the calcined material. A test has been developed to determine the pore volume of the calcined alumina-containing material which ultimately forms the matrix of the inventive catalyst. The test characterizes the water pore volume of the calcined alumina-containing material by determining the minimum amount of water needed to make a slurry from a sample of the solids. In the test, a powder sample is mixed with water containing a dispersant such as, for example, Colloid 211, Viking Industries, Atlanta, Ga., in a cup using a stirring rod or spatula. Just enough water is added to the dry sample to convert the dry powder to a single mass of dilatant mud which only just begins to flow under its own weight. The incipient slurry point (ISP) is calculated from the weights of the sample and water used. The incipient slurry point can be calculated as follows: ISP=[(grams of dry sample)/(grams of dry sample plus grams of water added)]×100. The units are dimensionless and are reported as percent solids.

This amount of water is larger than the (internal) water pore volume of the sample, but is clearly related to the water pore volume. Lower incipient slurry point percent solids values indicate higher water absorption capacities or higher pore volume in the sample. The calcined alumina-containing materials from which the high-alumina matrix is derived in accordance with this invention will have incipient slurry points less than 57% solids, preferably 48 to 52% solids. This compares with Satintone® No. 1 which yields over 58% solids in the incipient slurry point test.

Accordingly, not only is the ultrafine hydrous kaolin useful as an alumina-containing material from which to derive the matrix of the catalyst microspheres, but the matrix may also be derived from delaminated kaolin, platelet alumina and precipitated alumina. Means for delaminating booklets or stacks of kaolin are well-known in the art. Preferred are those methods, which use a particulate grinding medium such as sand, or glass microballoons as is well-known. Subsequent to delamination, the platelets are pulverized to derive the random packing or “house of cards” morphology.

Further sources of macroporous alumina which can be used to derive the matrix of the catalyst can include, for example, non-kaolin sources such as aluminum tri-hydrates, e.g., bayerite and gibbsite, transitional aluminas, aluminum monohydrates such as boehmite and pseudoboehmite, foamed alumina, alumina-containing aerogels, hydrotalcites, silica-alumina cogels, and bauxite.

The pulverize-calcine-pulverize processing of hydrous kaolin is preferred to make the matrix precursor of the invention because it appears that, when the foregoing is used with hydrous kaolin as the metakaolin source to form the reactive precursor microspheres, superior attrition resistance results at high pore volume. While less preferred, matrix precursors may also be wet milled to further de-agglomerate the precursor. The milling appears to reduce microsphere pore volume, all other things held constant. A method to reduce microsphere pore volume is useful when pre-calcined metakaolin powder is used to form the reactive precursor microspheres. While helping to moderate the required zeolite content and also perhaps improving the dispersion of said milled matrix in the microsphere, the de-agglomeration appears to have the effect of breaking strong bonds which could have otherwise strengthened the final catalyst, and so is not preferred.

It is also within the scope of this invention to derive the matrix from chemically synthesized spinel and/or mullite. Thus, Okata, et al., “Characterization of spinel phase from SiO₂—Al₂O₃ xerogels and the formation process of mullite”, Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 69 [9] 652-656 (1986), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference disclose that two kinds of xerogels can be prepared by slow and rapid hydrolysis of tetraethyoxy silane and aluminum nitrate nonahydrdate dissolved in ethanol. The slow hydrolysis method involves gelling the above mixture in an oven at 60° C. for one to two weeks whereas the rapid hydrolysis method involves adding ammonium hydroxide solution to the mixture and drying in air. Xerogels prepared by the slow hydrolysis method crystallized mullite directly from the amorphous state on firing whereas the xerogels formed by rapid hydrolysis crystallized a spinel phase before mullite formation. As is long as such calcined synthetic materials have a water pore volume within the scope of this invention, such materials can be used to derive the high-alumina matrix of the catalyst of this invention.

Further within the scope of this invention is to derive the matrix from other non-kaolin alumina sources. For example, alumina matrix precursors can include those derived from aluminum hydrates such as mono-hydrates and tri-hydrates and their derivatives. The tri-hydrates such as bayerite and gibbsite can crystallize in large particles with aspect ratios near 1. While aspect ratios close to 1 indicating a quasi-spherical morphology imply dense packing and low pore volume in aggregates, compensations such as proper pulverization and calcination can yield increased porosity in the aggregates. Precursors with aspect ratios well departed from 1 may well have the necessary macroporosity and thus reduce the need for secondary processing. The art has methods for yielding a platelet and acicular morphology, for example in gibbsite, and these morphologies are retained in the calcined products. For example, gibbsite can be calcined to alpha alumina. During the calcination process, a large internal porosity develops. This internal porosity is metastable and not maintained in the final alpha-alumina product, but the morphology of the original crystallite, and thus much of the macroporosity, may be retained in the final calcined products if sintering is not too severe. Bayerite and Si-stabilized bayerite have been used as bottoms upgrading aluminas. Accordingly, such bayerites, including bayerites calcined to eta alumina, after appropriate processing or synthesis can be produced with the desired macroporosity, and the use thereof as matrix materials in the present invention can yield the zeolite-on matrix morphology of the in-situ formed catalyst. Examples of bayerites used in incorporated catalysts are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,165,351; 5,547,564; 5,306,417; and 5,304,526, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

It is also known to flash calcine gibbsite, the product of which is highly reactive and can be rehydrated to high value boehmites. The preparation of flash calcined gibbsites typically first involves ball milling from 100 micron gibbsite. A low macropore volume in aggregates is implied due to the products having aspect ratios near 1 after ball milling. Incorporation of additives such as seed alumina, phosphates, or clays can yield porous boehmite agglomerates from the calcined gibbsite. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,403,526 and 6,451,200 provide examples of such processing and are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Alumina gels can be formed to contain both alumina mono-hydrates and alumina tri-hydrates. The gel systems include the alumina hydrates in a predominant solid phase in which the second phase can be water, a mixture of water and organic solvent, or air (aerogels). Depending on the method of preparation, the solid may be present as discrete particles ranging in size from a few nanometers to micrometers, or the solid can be in the form of three-dimensional polymeric networks, in which the domains of solid are linked to others via chemical bonds. Such three-dimensional polymeric networks can be macroporous and useful as matrix precursors in the catalyst of the present invention. The polymeric network, and in particular gels, can be prepared by controlled hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxides dissolved in organic solvents. Such gels have been used for the preparation of porous ceramic bodies. The properties of the gels prepared from aluminum alkoxides depend on temperature, ratio of water, the composition of the alkoxide, the type of solvent and stability thereof with water, presence of electrolytes, and the pH of the solution. All of these are factors which influence the final product.

The aluminum hydrates are amphoteric and, thus, are soluble in strong acid and strong bases. In aqueous solutions of intermediate pH, the solubility of these materials is very low. Due to the steep slope of the solubility curve, a small change in pH can cause considerable supersaturation and consequently rapid precipitation. Accordingly, the aluminum hydrates can be precipitated in a colloidal size which then easily coagulate to gels. Factors which determine the physical properties of the gels such as particle size, chemical composition, include temperature, rate of precipitation, final pH, ionic composition, surfactants, concentration of the starting solutions, agitation and time of aging. The rapid neutralization of aluminum salt solution with bases leads to gels rich in water, which contain variable amounts of residual acidic anions. Removal of the water and the ions may lead to macroporous components which can be useful as matrix precursors in this invention. High and low pore volume alumina monohydrates are generally known in the art. High macroporosity, at least for pseudo-boehmites, appears to be associated with processes employing precipitations from the aluminum salts. The crystallites in these materials may be fibrous. These materials are commonly employed in the extrusion of macroporous alumina supports for applications such as hydrotreating, etc. The macroporosities of these materials would be useful in the catalyst of the invention, yielding macropore structures in the ultimate catalyst. Use of milling and mulling processes for particle size and porosity control is anticipated to be an essential part and chief benefit of these specific materials. Such materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,656,250 and 2,915,475, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

There is an enormous art describing Si—Al cogels for FCC and other applications. This art is not practiced anymore, since the products provided high pore volume, low density FCC (gel catalysts) which had comparatively poor attrition resistance. In-situ and sol-bound catalysts demonstrated much better attrition resistance, and thus, these cogels were replaced by colloidal binder technology with improved results. However, the same properties that made the prior art cogels poor for FCC render such materials excellent as in-situ precursors of the matrix and hydrocracking catalysts of this invention. Upon calcination, the alumina-rich portions of the gel are likely to form Si-free transition aluminas, Si—Al spinel or Si-modified transition aluminas, alpha alumina, and/or mullite. The silica-rich regions are likely to form high surface area amorphous silica-alumina. The former is anticipated to be functionally equivalent to a kaolin-based active matrix, and the latter to be excellent quality nutrient for zeolite growth. Non-limiting examples of forming cogels are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,310,441 and 4,499,197, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

Large pore volume matrices can also be formed from foamed alumina and porous bauxite.

The process of hydrothermal gel aging and/or rehydration, either at ambient pressure or under autoclave or elevated pressure conditions, can be used to interconvert between the aluminum hydroxide precursor phases recited above.

In general, the crystallized zeolite microsphere of this invention, which is formed using the high water pore volume alumina-containing materials as determined by the ISP test to form the catalyst matrix, has a substantial macroporosity i.e., pores having diameters of at least 600 angstroms. Preferably, the pore volume of the zeolite-containing microspheres is greater than 0.27 cc/gm, more preferably greater than 0.30 cc/gm of Hg for pores in the range of 40-20,000 angstroms in diameter. More particularly, the catalyst of this invention has a macropore volume for pores having a size range of 600 to 20,000 angstroms of at least 0.07 cc/gm of Hg, and preferably at least 0.10 cc/gm of Hg. While conventional zeolite-incorporated catalysts have macroporosities comparable to the catalysts of this invention, the incorporated catalysts do not have the novel zeolite-on-matrix morphology nor performance of the catalysts of this invention. The catalysts of this invention will have a BET surface area less than 500 m²/g, preferably less than 475 m²/g and most preferably within a range of about 300-450 m²/g. The moderate surface area of the catalysts of this invention in combination with the macroporosity achieves the desired activity and selectivities to gasoline while reducing gas and coke yields.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that it is the steam-aged surface area and activity that is truly significant and which must be balanced against the available pore volume. The cited preferred surface areas for finished product (fresh) catalyst are chosen such that the surface area after a 1500° F., four hour steaming at 1 atm steam pressure are generally below 300 m²/gm.

It has further been found that the macroporosity of the catalyst of this invention can be maintained even if a portion of the matrix is derived from coarse alumina-containing materials which otherwise do not meet the water pore volume desired by this invention as determined by the ISP test. Thus, it was found that blends of booklet kaolin clay and ultrafine kaolin clays that are calcined through the exotherm produce catalysts with high pore volume, wide macropores but with a lower zeolite content. Such catalysts can be valuable for exceptionally severe cracking environments.

The general procedure for manufacturing the zeolite-containing microspheres of this invention is well-known in the art and can be followed from the procedure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,902. As disclosed therein, an aqueous slurry of reactive finely divided hydrous kaolin and/or metakaolin and alumina-containing material which forms the matrix such as the ultrafine kaolin that has been calcined through its characteristic exotherm is prepared. The aqueous slurry is then spray dried to obtain microspheres comprising a mixture of hydrous kaolin and/or metakaolin and kaolin that has been calcined at least substantially through its characteristic exotherm to form the high-alumina matrix. Preferably, a moderate amount of sodium silicate is added to the aqueous slurry before it is spray dried. During and after spray drying the sodium silicate functions as a binder between the kaolin particles.

The reactive kaolin of the slurry to form the microspheres can be formed of hydrated kaolin or calcined hydrous kaolin (metakaolin) or mixtures thereof. The hydrous kaolin of the feed slurry can suitably be either one or a mixture of ASP® 600 or ASP® 400 kaolin, derived from coarse white kaolin crudes. Finer particle size hydrous kaolins can also be used, including those derived from gray clay deposits, such as LHT pigment. Purified water-processed kaolin clays from Middle Georgia have been used with success. Calcined products of these hydrous kaolins can be used as the metakaolin component of the feed slurry. The higher pore volume obtained using metakaolin can be offset by wet milling the matrix precursor. Silicate for the binder is preferably provided by sodium silicates with SiO₂ to Na₂O ratios of from 1.5 to 3.5 and especially preferred ratios of from 2.88 to 3.22.

A quantity (e.g., 3 to 30% by weight of the kaolin) of zeolite initiator may also be added to the aqueous slurry before it is spray dried. As used herein, the term “zeolite initiator” shall include any material containing silica and alumina that either allows a zeolite crystallization process that would not occur in the absence of the initiator or shortens significantly the zeolite crystallization process that would occur in the absence of the initiator. Such materials are also known as “zeolite seeds”. The zeolite initiator may or may not exhibit detectable crystallinity by x-ray diffraction.

Adding zeolite initiator to the aqueous slurry of kaolin before it is spray dried into microspheres is referred to herein as “internal seeding”. Alternatively, zeolite initiator may be mixed with the kaolin microspheres after they are formed and before the commencement of the crystallization process, a technique which is referred to herein as “external seeding”.

The zeolite initiator used in the present invention may be provided from a number of sources. For example, the zeolite initiator may comprise recycled fines produced during the crystallization process itself. Other zeolite initiators that may be used include fines produced during the crystallization process of another zeolite product or an amorphous zeolite initiator in a sodium silicate solution. As used herein, “amorphous zeolite initiator” shall mean a zeolite initiator that exhibits no detectable crystallinity by x-ray diffraction.

The seeds may be prepared as disclosed by in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,902. Especially preferred seeds are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,262.

After spray drying, the microspheres may be calcined directly, or alternatively acid-neutralized to further enhance ion exchange of the catalysts after crystallization. The acid-neutralization process comprises co-feeding uncalcined, spray dried microspheres and mineral acid to a stirred slurry at controlled pH. The rates of addition of solids and acid are adjusted to maintain a pH of about 2 to 7, most preferably from about 2.5 to 4.5 with a target of about 3 pH. The sodium silicate binder is gelled to silica and a soluble sodium salt, which is subsequently filtered and washed free from the microspheres. The silica gel-bound microspheres are then calcined. In either case, calcination is done at a temperature and for a time (e.g., for two hours in a muffle furnace at a chamber temperature of about 1,350° F.) sufficient to convert any hydrated kaolin component of the microspheres to metakaolin, leaving the previously calcined kaolin components of the microspheres essentially unchanged. The resulting calcined porous microspheres comprise a mixture of metakaolin and kaolin clay calcined through its characteristic exotherm in which the two types of calcined kaolin are present in the same microspheres. Alternatively any appropriate calcined alumina can replace the kaolin calcined through the exotherm as previously described. In general, the weight ratio of metakaolin to calcined alumina should be about 1:0.66 to 1:4, preferably 1:1.5 to 1:3. Thus, calcined the microspheres should generally comprise about 25-60% by weight metakaolin and about 40-75% by weight kaolin that has been calcined through its characteristic exotherm. Preferably 30-40% by weight metakaolin and 60-70% by weight kaolin calcined through the exotherm are provided. Also present is Na₂O and SiO₂ derived from sodium silicate binder.

Y-faujasite is allowed to crystallize by mixing the calcined kaolin microspheres with the appropriate amounts of other constituents (including at least sodium silicate and water), as discussed in detail below, and then heating the resulting slurry to a temperature and for a time (e.g., to 200°-215° F. for 10-24 hours) sufficient to crystallize Y-faujasite in the microspheres. The prescriptions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,902 may be followed as written. Equivalent, reformatted recipes are provided as follows, however.

The crystallization recipes we employ are based on a set of assumptions and certain raw materials. The seeds are described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,262 and are preferably used externally. The SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Na₂O components of metakaolin, seeds, sodium silicate solution, calcined sodium silicate binder, and silica gel are assumed to be 100% reactive. The alumina and silica in kaolin calcined through the exotherm to the spinel form are assumed to be 1% and 90% reactive respectively. Although these two values are in use, they are not believed to be accurate. The alumina and silica in kaolin calcined through the exotherm to the mullite form are assumed to be 0% and 67% reactive, respectively. These two values are believed to be accurate, representing the inertness of 3:2 mullite in crystallization and the full solubility of the free silica phase. Since metakaolin alumina is the limiting reagent in the synthesis and the volume of zeolite is much larger than the corresponding volume of metakaolin, it is important to limit the zeolite yield appropriately for a given microsphere pore volume. Otherwise, there will result little or no residual pore volume after crystallization. Such is the case for the prior art. On the other hand, if insufficient limiting reagent is available in the microsphere to grow sufficient zeolite to appropriately harden the catalyst, additional nutrient alumina may be added in the form of metakaolin microspheres, as is well known in this art. Thus, tight process control is enabled for pore volume and attrition.

Using these assumptions, the following weight ratios for reactive components are used in the overall crystallization recipes. Inert components do not enter into the ratios, except in the case of the seeds dose, which is defined as the ratio of the grams of seeds Al2O3 to total grams of microspheres.

Weight Ratios SiO₂/Na₂O SiO₂/Al₂O₃ H₂O/Na₂O Al₂O₃/MS Broadly 2.50-3.1  4.5-15  5-15   .01-0.0001 Preferred 2.55-2.95 5.5-8  5.5-8   0.006-0.001 Typical 7.0 7.0 0.004 (mullite) 2.575 (spinel) 2.75 (Acid-neutr) 2.9

The sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide reactants may be added to the crystallization reactor from a variety of sources. For example, the reactants may be provided as an aqueous mixture of N® Brand sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide. As another example, at least part of the sodium silicate may be provided by the mother liquor produced during the crystallization of another zeolite-containing product.

After the crystallization process is terminated, the microspheres containing Y-faujasite are separated from at least a substantial portion of their mother liquor, e.g., by filtration. It may be desirable to wash to microspheres by contacting them with water either during or after the filtration step. The purpose of the washing step is to remove mother liquor that would otherwise be left entrained within the microspheres.

“Silica Retention” may be practiced. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,902 at column 12, lines 3-31, regarding silica retention are incorporated herein by cross-reference.

The microspheres that are filtered contain Y-faujasite zeolite in the sodium form. Typically, the microspheres contain more than about 8% by weight Na₂O.

Zeolite Y is normally synthesized in forms having silica:alumina ratios up to about 5:1. These as-synthesized forms of zeolite Y may be subjected to various treatments to remove structural aluminum therefrom. Many of these techniques rely upon the removal of aluminum from the structural framework of the zeolite by chemical agents appropriate to this end. A considerable amount of work on the preparation of aluminum deficient faujasites has been performed and is reviewed in Advances in Chemistry Series No. 121, Molecular Sieves, G. T. Kerr, American Chemical Society, 1973. Specific methods for preparing dealuminized zeolites are described in the following, and reference is made to them for details of the method: Catalysis by Zeolites ((International Symposium on Zeolites, Lyon, Sep. 9-11, 1980), Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1980 (dealuminization of zeolite Y with silicon tetrachloride); U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,795 and G.B. No. 1,058,188 (hydrolysis and removal of aluminum by chelation); G.B. No. 1,061,847 (acid extraction of aluminum); U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,519 (aluminum removal by steaming and chelation); U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,488 (aluminum removal by steaming); U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,753 (dealuminization by silicon halide and oxyhalides); U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,099 (aluminum extraction with acid); U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,560 (dealuminization by treatment with salts); U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,791 (aluminum removal with Cr(III) solutions); U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,400 (steaming followed by chelation); U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,681 (extraction of aluminum with acetylacetonate followed by dehydroxylation); U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,561 (removal of aluminum with acid); DE-OS No. 2,510,740 (treatment of zeolite with chlorine or chlorine-contrary gases at high temperatures), NL No. 7,604,264 (acid extraction), JA No. 53,101,003 (treatment with EDTA or other materials to remove aluminum) and J. Catalysis 54 295 (1978) (hydrothermal treatment followed by acid extraction).

Highly siliceous forms of zeolite Y may be prepared by steaming or by acid extraction of structural aluminum (or both) but because zeolite Y in its normal, as-synthesized condition, is unstable to acid, it must first be converted to an acid-stable form. Methods for doing this are known and one of the most common forms of acid-resistant zeolite Y is known as “Ultrastable Y” (USY); it is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,293,192 and 3,402,996 and the publication, Society of Chemical Engineering (London) Monograph Molecular Sieves, page 186 (1968) by C. V. McDaniel and P. K. Maher, and reference is made to these for details of the zeolite and in preparation. In general, “ultrastable” refers to Y-type zeolite which is highly resistant to degradation of crystallinity by high temperature and steam treatment and is characterized by a R₂O content (wherein R is Na, K or any other akali metal ion) of less than 4 weight percent, preferably less than 1 weight percent, and a unit cell size less than 24.5 Angstroms and a silica to alumina mole ratio in the range of 3.5 to 7 or higher. The ultrastable form of Y-type zeolite is obtained primarily by a substantial reduction of the alkali metal ions and the unit cell size. The ultrastable zeolite is identified both by the smaller unit cell and the low alkali metal content in the crystal structure.

The ultrastable form of the Y-type zeolite can be prepared by successively base exchanging a Y-type zeolite with an aqueous solution of an ammonium salt, such as ammonium nitrate, until the alkali metal content of the Y-type zeolite is reduced to less than 4 weight percent. The base exchanged zeolite is then calcined at a temperature of 540° C. to 800° C. for up to several hours, cooled and successively base exchanged with an aqueous solution of an ammonium salt until the alkali metal content is reduced to less than 1 weight percent, followed by washing and calcination again at a temperature of 540° C. to 800° C. to produce an ultrastable zeolite Y. The sequence of ion exchange and heat treatment results in the substantial reduction of the alkali metal content of the original zeolite and results in a unit cell shrinkage which is believed to lead to the ultra high stability of the resulting Y-type zeolite.

The ultrastable zeolite Y may then be extracted with acid to produce a highly siliceous form of the zeolite.

Other methods for increasing the silica:alumina ratio of zeolite Y by acid extraction are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,218,307; 3,591,488 and 3,691,099 to which reference is made for details of these methods.

The preferred catalyst of the invention comprises microspheres containing at least 40% and preferably from 50% to 65% by weight Y-faujasite, expressed on the basis of the as-crystallized sodium faujasite form of zeolite. As used herein, the term Y-faujasite shall include synthetic faujasite zeolites exhibiting, in the sodium form, an X-ray diffraction pattern of the type described in Breck, Zeolite Molecular Sieves, p. 369, Table 4.90 (1974), and having a crystalline unit cell size, in the sodium form (after washing any crystallization mother liquor from the zeolite), of less than about 24.75 A as determined by the technique described in the ASTM standard method of testing titled “Determination of the Unit Cell Size Dimension of a Faujasite Type Zeolite” (Designation D3942-80) or by an equivalent technique. The term Y-faujasite shall encompass the zeolite in its sodium form as well as in the known modified forms, including, e.g., rare earth and ammonium exchanged forms and stabilized forms. The percentage of Y-faujasite zeolite in the microspheres of the catalyst is determined when the zeolite is in the sodium form (after it has been washed to remove any crystallization mother liquor contained within the microspheres) by the technique described in ASTM standard method of testing titled “Relative Zeolite Diffraction Intensities” (Designation D3906-80) or by an equivalent technique. It is important to equilibrate the microspheres carefully before X-ray evaluations are made since equilibration can have a significant effect on the results.

The microspheres containing the macroporous matrix and the in-situ zeolite Y can be formulated into a catalyst used for hydrocracking by any known method. Typically the microspheres would be mixed with the matrix material described above and extruded or otherwise formed into the desired shape. Pseudo-boehmite aluminas, both the fully peptizable and the partially peptizable varieties, are particularly useful as binders. They also function as extrusion aids. Levels of the boehmite aluminas of 5-20 wt. % based on the catalyst are useful. Typical extrudates are 1/16 to ⅛ in. in diameter. The extrudates can be in any known shape including cylinders and multi-lobe or cloverleaf structures as is well known. The microspheres can be impregnated with the metal component prior to incorporation with the matrix material or the extruded or shaped catalyst can be impregnated.

Further, it is possible to form the zeolite in-situ from a matrix material that can be extruded or formed into the desired shape. In this procedure, the hydrous kaolin, metakaolin, and macroporous forming matrix materials can be mixed and then shaped prior to reaction to form the zeolite. The zeolite forming reaction would be similar if not the same as the zeolite forming reaction to provide the microspheres as described above. It is believed that, just as in the case of the crystallization of microspheres, the crystallization mother liquor must be maintained in fluid motion. This is needed to prevent the external nucleation of faujasite and the formation of zeolite fines. Crystallizations using beds of extrudates and mother liquor in gentle upflow have been successful. Small amounts of binder materials such as silica can be added to improve the extrudability or shaping of the pre-zeolite/matrix mixture and their integrity during crystallization.

FIG. 1 illustrates the unique morphology of the hydrocracking catalysts of this invention achievable from a unique alumina-containing material used to derive the catalyst matrix. The catalyst microspheres of this invention have a substantially different morphology than the previous catalyst microspheres, especially with respect to the increased pore volume, zeolite-on-matrix morphology, and moderate surface area.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the catalyst of this invention includes a macroporous matrix in which the macropores of the matrix are formed from a random configuration of porous matrix planar structures which are lined on the opposing surfaces of the planes with the zeolite crystals. Thus, the macropores of the catalyst are lined with the active zeolite crystals. In FIG. 1, the mesoporous matrix planes are formed from mullite particles.

The macroporosity of the catalyst allows the hydrocarbons to enter the catalyst freely and the increased macropore surface area thereof allows such hydrocarbons to contact the catalytic surfaces. Importantly, the hydrocarbons can contact the zeolite unobstructed, rendering the catalyst very active.

EXAMPLE 1

A microsphere was prepared containing 30 parts of metakaolin (MK), 20 parts of wet media-milled Ansilex 93™, 20 parts of media-milled HiOpaque™ pigment calcined beyond 1,050° C., and 30 parts of NuSurf™ pigment which had been directly calcined beyond 1,050° C., pulverized and fluid-energy milled. To this mixture of calcined kaolins was added 15 parts of SiO2 added from N-brand® sodium silicate. This microsphere was not acid-neutralized. The metakaolin source was Metamax™, a pulverized powder, made down at 55% solids in tap water with 3 ml Colloid 211 surfactant (Viking Industries, Atlanta, Ga.) per kg of calcined kaolin. An air-driven Cowles mixer was used in a batch process where the dry kaolin was added to the water that already contained the surfactant. The kaolin was added more slowly to the water as the mixture thickened. A very dilatant slurry was formed but continued mixing reduced the viscosity. Gradual addition of the kaolin and continued mixing during 45 minutes or more led to a slurry for which the dilatancy was no longer apparent by casual inspection.

The media-milled Ansilex 93™ pigment was derived from a mixture of commercially produced slurries of 50% and 60% solids content. About 7 gallons of these slurries was placed in a stirred feed tank of a 4 L agitated media mill (Premier Mill Corp., Reading Pa.). Three passes through the mill at about 4 minutes residence time each gave 90% less than 1.66 um by laser scattering (Horiba) at 51% solids.

HiOpaque™ is a calcined pigment derived from delaminated kaolin. Commercially produced pigment was further calcined using cordierite trays and a pre-heated high temperature electric furnace at 2350° F. during four hours, in order to obtain the maximum yield of well-crystallized mullite. The furnace product was then crushed to form a powder, made down and wet media milled as above in four passes. The final product was 90%<3.24 um by laser scattering and at 37% solids by specific gravity. Both wet-milled slurries were very low in viscosity.

NuSurf™ is a coarse fraction of delaminated hydrous kaolin. This product was calcined at 2350° F. for four hours in cordierite trays to obtain maximal yield of well-crystallized mullite, crushed, then fluid energy milled with air (Micron Master Jet Pulverizer, Jet Pulverizer Co., Palmyra, N.Y.) to 90%<8.51 um particle size. This material was easily made down at 50% solids using tap water and 3 ml Colloid 211 per kg of dry kaolin in a Cowles mixer to form a non-dilatant slurry. The ease of the make-down suggested that the hydrous pigment was not optimally pulverized before calcination or the fluid energy milling had compressed the aggregates.

Each of the four component slurries was maintained in suspension by rolling in sealed jugs until required for blending.

The slurry for spray drying was formed by mixing the four component slurries in the 30:20:20:30 ratio on a 4 kg overall dry basis, as noted above, in a Cowles mixer. Directly to this slurry 2.14 kg of N-brand® Sodium Silicate was added to form a mixture at 45.7% solids which was sufficiently fluid to pump and spray dry. The material was spray dried using a 0.6 mm single fluid nozzle at 700 psi.

The as-sprayed material had a 0.71 gm/ml ABD (apparent bulk density) and analyzed with 3.9% Na₂O, or 13.1% binder as SiO₂. This product was calcined directly at 1500° F. in a pre-heated furnace using open cordierite trays during two hours. The product had 0.356 cc/gm pore volume in the 40-20,000 Å diameter range by mercury porosimetry, a 76 um APS and 14.2 wt. % acid-solubles (U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,220; column 18, line 59) and a 0.71 gm/cc ABD.

EXAMPLE 2

A microsphere was prepared containing 30 parts of MK, 20 parts of wet media-milled Ansilex 93™ 20 parts of ball-milled NuSurf™ pigment calcined beyond 1,050° C., and 30 parts of NuSurf™ mullite aggregates prepared by pulverizing the hydrous pigment before calcining beyond 1,050° C., plus 15 parts of SiO₂ added from N-brand® sodium silicate. This microsphere was acid-neutralized.

The MK source was a second batch of Metamax™ made down at 55% solids with C211 dispersant. The media-milled Ansilex 93™ was the same slurry as prepared in Example 1.

The ball-milled NuSurf™ mullite was prepared by calcining the hydrous delaminated pigment at 2350° F. for four hours in cordierite trays in a pre-heated furnace. This material was crushed, pulverized, and then wet ball milled at 46% solids. The final product was a low viscosity slurry with 90%<2 um by laser scattering.

The NuSurf™ mullite in this example was prepared to assure the formation of high pore volume aggregates with a house of cards structure. NuSurf™ delaminated hydrous pigment was slurried with water and dispersant, spray dried into densely packed microspheres, and subsequently pulverized to obtain a low density powder. This hydrous powder was calcined at 2350° F. in cordierite trays for four hours to form well-crystallized mullite. The product was crushed and pulverized to a powder, then made down at 50% solids using 4 ml C211 per kg of calcined kaolin using a Cowles mixer. This slurry was initially very dilatant and difficult to make down. Mixing was continued until the dilatancy was no longer apparent. The particle size by laser scattering was 90%<14.75 um.

Each of the four component slurries was maintained in suspension by rolling in sealed jugs until required for blending.

The slurry for spray drying was formed by mixing the four component slurries in the 30:20:20:30 ratio on a 3.93 kg overall dry basis as noted above in a Cowles mixer. Directly to this slurry 2.11 kg of N-brand® Sodium Silicate was added to form a mixture at 48% solids, which was sufficiently fluid to pump and spray dry. The material was spray dried using a 0.6 mm single fluid nozzle at 700 psi.

The as-sprayed material had a 0.72 gm/ml ABD and analyzed with 4.01% Na₂O, or 13.5% SiO₂ binder. This product was acid-neutralized by feeding the as spray dried microspheres to a bucket of cool stirred tap water, while co-feeding sufficient 40 Wt. % H₂SO₄ to keep the pH of the slurry between about 2.5 and 4. After all of the solids were added, the pH was monitored and controlled for 10 minutes before filtering and washing with about 2 gallons of tap water per Kg of microspheres, and then dried overnight at about 350° F.

The acid-neutralized microspheres were calcined directly at 1500° F. in pre-heated furnace using open cordierite trays during three hours. The product had 0.402 cc/gm pore volume in the 40-20,000 range by mercury porosimetry, a 77 um APS and 14.4 wt. % acid-solubles and a 0.66 gm/cc ABD.

EXAMPLE 3

A microsphere of exceptionally high pore volume and with unusually wide macropores was prepared with 30 parts of MK and 70 parts of NuSurf™ mullite aggregates; the latter prepared by pulverizing before calcining beyond 1,050° C. The calcined kaolin mixture was spray dried with 15 parts of SiO2 added from N-brand® sodium silicate. This microsphere was acid-neutralized.

The MK source was the same batch of Metamax™ made down in Example 2. The NuSurf™ mullite (aggregates) was also the same batch made down for Example 2. The two slurries were kept in suspension by rolling in sealed jugs until needed for blending.

The slurry for spray drying was formed by mixing the two component slurries in the 30:70 ratio on a 4.00 kg overall dry basis as noted above in a Cowles mixer. To this slurry 2.14 kg of N-brand® Sodium Silicate was added to form a mixture at 48% solids, which was sufficiently fluid to pump and spray dry. The material was spray dried using a 0.6 mm single fluid nozzle at 700 psi.

The as-sprayed material had a 0.56 gm/ml ABD and analyzed with 3.92% Na₂O, or 13.1% SiO₂ binder. This product was acid-neutralized and dried as per the procedure of Example 2. The acid-neutralized microspheres were calcined directly at 1500° F. in pre-heated furnace using open cordierite trays during three hours. The product had 0.407 cc/gm pore volume in the 40-20,000 A diameter range and an additional 0.156 cc/gm in the 20,000 to 40,000 A diameter range by mercury porosimetry, a 86 um APS and 10.6 wt. % acid-solubles with a 0.53 gm/cc ABD.

EXAMPLES 4-6

The microspheres of Examples 1-3 were crystallized during 23 hours to form zeolite Y by conventional procedures (U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,902, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,809) with the following results. The seeds are described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,262.

TABLE 1 Crystallization Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 Microsphere of Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Crystallization Recipe Grams MS 245.0 225.0 230.0 Seeds, grams 171.9 157.9 161.4 N-BRAND, grams 403.0 414.4 415.0 50% NaOH, grams 66.8 90.6 87.6 H₂O, grams 462.0 435.9 429.6 Sodium-form properties UCS, A 24.62 24.62 24.63 BET, m2/gm 446 447 420 MSA, m2/gm 66 69 54 ZSA, m2/gm 380 379 366 Hg TPV, 40-20 K, cc/gm 0.283 0.328 0.508 Roller, wt. %/hr 26 36 128

The mercury pore volume of these materials is considerably higher than provided for by the prior art of in situ crystallization. The sodium-form catalysts were then ion-exchanged to finished products as follows. Sodium-form catalyst was added to 27 wt. % ammonium nitrate solution at 180° F. and pH of 2.8-3.2 while stirring and adding 50% HNO₃ drop-wise to control pH. After all of the catalyst was added, the slurry was stirred for 15 minutes, filtered, and the cake washed with twice the dry catalyst weight of de-ionized water. Two such exchanges were done where the weight ratio of catalyst to 27 wt. % ammonium nitrate was 1:2. The samples were then rare earth exchanged at 180° F. and pH of 4 to yield about 3% REO on the catalyst. The Na₂O content at this point was 1.8 to 1.9 wt., considerably lower than prior art formulations.

The partially-exchanged materials were dried and then calcined at 1150° F. in pre-heated furnaces for two hours in covered silica trays while initially containing 25 wt. % moisture. After calcination, the ammonium exchange procedure was repeated either five (Example 4) or three (Examples 5, 6) times, then calcined again at 25% moisture and 1150° F. to form the finished product. The results are as follows:

TABLE 2 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 UCS, Å 24.52 24.51 24.48 Roller, Wt %/hr 20 47 ABD VF, gm/cc 0.600 0.569 0.463 Hg Pore Volume by Diameters (Å) 40-200 Å 0.076 0.090 0.069 200-2000 Å 0.186 0.166 0.125 2000-20,000 Å 0.068 0.098 0.317 40-100 A 0.053 0.059 0.040 100-600 A 0.103 0.107 0.116 600-20,000 A 0.174 0.187 0.355 40-20,000 Å 0.329 0.353 0.511 BET, m2/gm 383 361 299 MSA, m2/gm 71 76 57 ZSA, m2/gm 312 285 242 Al₂O₃, Wt. % 41.8 43.8 43.5 SiO₂, Wt. % 52.8 50.8 51.2 Na₂O, Wt. % 0.1 0.1 0.21 Fe₂O₃, Wt. % 0.54 0.47 0.4 TiO₂, Wt. % 0.85 0.83 0.79 P₂O₅, ppm 400 300 300 REO, Wt. % 2.92 2.41 2.58

It can be seen that the use of increasing amounts of properly pre-pulverized hydrous delaminated kaolin leads to more catalyst pore volume and wider macropores. An SEM image of the catalyst of Example 6 is shown in FIG. 1. The dark areas are the macropores which are clearly formed by the random or “house of cards” configuration of the sheets of matrix derived from delaminated pigment. The smaller granules sandwiched between the larger crystals of zeolite have been positively identified as mullite crystals. The larger crystals coated or otherwise lining the mullite matrix have been positively identified as zeolite Y.

Inclusion of both mullite and spinel leads to a tri-modal pore size distribution. The porosity intrinsic to the spinel and mullite phases are visible in the mercury pore size data, indicating that these mesoporous matrices are not occluded by the zeolite which grows upon them. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A process for hydrocracking and recovering hydrocarbons, said process comprising contacting a petroleum refinery fraction with a catalyst and hydrogen under sufficient hydrocracking conditions, said catalyst comprising a combination of hydrogenation metals and zeolite Y crystallized in-situ as a layer on the surface of a porous alumina-containing matrix, said zeolite-layered matrix being shaped by extrusion and arranged in a configuration to provide macropores in which the zeolite layer is provided on the walls of the macropores, said zeolite-layered matrix having a mercury pore volume of at least 0.07 cc/gm for pores of 600-20,000 A diameter, said process further comprising recovering a naphtha fraction boiling below about 200° C.
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein said hydrogenation metals are selected from the group consisting of Group VA, VIA and VIIIA metals of the Periodic Table.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein said petroleum refinery fraction has an initial boiling point of at least 232° C.
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein said petroleum refinery fraction is a hydrotreated petroleum refinery fraction.
 5. The process of claim 1, wherein said zeolite-layered matrix is combined with a binder to form a bound zeolite and wherein said bound zeolite is shaped by extrusion.
 6. The process of claim 5, wherein the hydrogenation metals are impregnated and/or exchanged into said bound zeolite.
 7. The process of claim 1, wherein said hydrogenation metals are impregnated and/or exchanged into said zeolite-layered matrix.
 8. The process of claim 1, wherein said porous alumina-containing matrix is shaped by extrusion and said zeolite is formed in-situ from said shaped matrix.
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein said zeolite-layered matrix has a mercury pore volume of at least 0.10 cc/gm for pores of 600-20,000 A diameter.
 10. The process of claim 1, wherein said zeolite-layered matrix has a BET surface area of less than 500 m²/g.
 11. The process of claim 1, wherein the matrix is derived from a kaolin calcined through the exotherm.
 12. The process of claim 1, wherein said alumina-containing matrix is derived essentially from an alumina source other than kaolin. 